Mail-bag fastener



s. A; FIELD.

MAIL BAG FASTENEE.

No. 363,130; Patented May 17,1887.

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Damn Tarps SAMUEL A. FIELD, OF PUTNAM, CONNECTICUT.

MAIL-BAG FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,130, dated May 17,1887.

Application filed April 11, 1887. Serial No. 234,367. (Modeh) To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL A. FIELD, of Putnam, in the county of\Vindham and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in MaiLBag Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same. I

My invention relates to an improvement in fastenings for mail-bags.

Hitherto in that class of mail-bag fastenings in which a clasp moving inthe plane of the closed jaws has been employed to close the mouth of thebag the top of the bag has been bound by flexible material, and in orderto open it the corners of the month were necessarily drawn toward eachother, whileit was necessary to apply a strain of some description or bysome means to hold the mouth open.

The object of my present invention is to provide a fastening which shallbe capable of closing the mouth of a mail-bag against the introductionof a wedge or other purchase to pry the jaws apart, and also againsttheintroduction of rain and moisture.

A further object is to provide a fastening which will, when open, holdthe mouth of the bag broadly open,and form a flaring or fu nnelshapedreceiver to guide the mail-matter tossed therein down into the body ofthe bag.

A further object is to provide a simple and quite inexpensive fasteningwithout any de tachable parts, excepting thel'ock, and which shall bewell calculated to withstand the hard I usage to which mailbags arecommonly subjeeted.

\Vith these ends in View my invention consisl's in certain features ofconstruction and combination of parts,as will be hereinafter dc scribed,and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 isa side view of the fastening inlocked adjustment. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of same in open adjustment.Fig. 3 is a partial reverse side view. Fig. 4 is a view' in transversesection through the center, and Fig. 5 is a modificatiou.

A A represent a pair of jaws, semi-rectangular, semicircular,bow-shaped, or other desired shape in longitudinal contour, providedonly the extreme ends of each jaw be extended on the same side of thebody of the jaw, substaniiall y as shown. The jaws A A are formed ofsome essentially rigid material-sheet metal, for example-and are hingedtogether at their extreme ends, as shown at a. Each of the jaws isprovided with a flat lip portion, B, and with a flaring portion, as b,the latter in each instance gradually diverging outwardly from theopposite jaw. Along the lower edges of the flaring portions 1) there isa series of perforations, C, through which the flexible material ofwhich the bag proper is composed is firmly secured to the jaws. One ofthe jaws, in the present instance A, is provided with a laterallyextending-flange, 0, adapted to pro ject over the edge of the oppositejaw when the latter is in closed adjustment.

D represents the securing-clasp. Its general shape is such as to conformto the con- 7 tour of the meeting edges of the jaws, and it is madeU-shaped in cross-section in order to embrace the opposite sides of theedges or lips of the jaws. The clasp D is designed to extend from hingeto hinge throughoutthe entire length of the lips; and in order to makethe closure of the jaws as tight as possible I prefer to construct thelips B slightly thicker at the base than at the outer edge, and construct the sides of the clasp slightly diverging from the crown towardits edges, the effect of which will be to force the adjacent faces ofthe lips B into snug contact with each other when the clasp is pressedinto closed adjustment. The clasp D is provided with elongated slots (1,their elongations being at right angles to the line joining the hingesof the jaws; and studs or rivets d set in the back of one of the jaws,as A, are adapted to extend through the said slots, and are providedwith heads d", which serve to lock the clasp D permanently to the jaw ina limited sliding adjustment toward and away from the edges of the lipsof the jaws.

The length of the sliding stroke of the clasp is intended to be justsufficient to free the edge of the jaw A from the edge of the clasp whenthe clasp is at the limit of its outward movement, and to bring thecrown of the clasp into ICC , pressed into closed adj nstment, and thehasp of the padlock G, or other well-known or approved form of lock, maybe then inserted through the staple to lock the hasp F in position.

In order to close the mouth of the bag still more effectually to theentrance of moisture the contactfaces of the lips B may be coated withsheet-rubber or other elastic coating, as shown at G. A simpleprecaution of this character-the attachment of the bag'to the jaws beingmade with due care-wonld protect the-contents of the bag from injury fora. con siderable length of time even when submerged.

The mouth of the bag when provided with the above-described fasteningisheld wide open, as shown in Fig. 2, by simply swinging the jaws apart,and when the jaws are so separated there is formed a flaring mouth,dueto the divergenee of the portions 1), into which the mailmatter may bereadily tossed.

The closure and opening of the bag can be effected in a moments timc,andthejaws being held together by the clasp extending throughout theirentire length are proof against any ordinary attempt to pry open andextract mail.

It is evident that the clasp D might be formed in two sections and asingle locking device employed to lock both sections at their meetingends. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 4, in which the sections Dare hinged to the jaw A in swinging adjustment toward and away from theedges of the lips, and the hasp of the padlock is adapted to extendthrough the jaws and the overlapping ends of the sections and lock themin position.

The fastening described might also be applied to other receptacles thanmailbags, and numeronsslight changes might be resorted to in theform andarrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly tothe construction herein set forth; but,

Having full y described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mail-bag fastener, the combination, with a pair of rigid jawshinged together, of a clasp adapted to embrace the opposite sides of themeeting lips of the jaws, the said clasp being secured to one of thejaws in adjustment toward and away from the meeting lips of the jaws,and a fastening common'to the jaws and the clasp, substantially asset'forth.

2. In a mailbag fastener, the combination, with a pair of rigid jawshinged together, of a clasp adapted to embrace the opposite sides of themeeting lips of the jaws, the said clasp being secured to one of thejaws in a limited sliding adjustment toward and away from the edges ofthe lips of the jaws, and a fastening common to the jaws and the clasp,substantially as set forth.

3. In a mail-bag fastener, the combination, with a pair of jaws hingedtogether and provided with flat meeting lips and with flaring portionsdiverging from each other as they extend from the lips toward the bodyof the bag, of a clasp extending along the entire length of the meetinglips, and secured to one of the jaws in a limited sliding adjustmenttoward and away from the meeting lips, and means for locking the jawsand clasp in closed adjustment, substantially as set forth.

4. In a mail-bag fastener, the combination, with a pair of jaws havingtheir meeting lips gradually thickened from their outer edges toward thebody of the bag, of a clasp U- shaped in cross-section adapted toembrace the opposite sides of the said lips, whereby the lips are forcedinto snug contact, substantially as set forth.

5. In a mail-bag fastener, the combination, with a pairof rigid jawshinged together and provided with an elastic coating between theirmeeting faces, of a clasp secured to one of the jaws and adapted toembrace the opposite sides of thejaws, and means for locking the jawsand clasp, substantiallyas set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses. Y

SAMUEL A. FIELD.

Witnesses:

' PRESCOTT A. BROWN,

SAMUEL H. SEWARD.

